This invention is a continuation of the discoveries associated with the developmental efforts of U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,057, dated Jan. 20, 1998, after that patent application was filed. The essence of that patent provides a piling or post covering now protected by the registered trade name "PILEKAP" wherein top and side winged pedestals and separately mountable bases allow for a wide variety of accessorial attachments. Since approximately 70 words are used in claim 1 of the above patent to define the subject piling cap and since the trade name PILEKAP is a registered trademark, the name PILEKAP.RTM. shall hereinafter be used as reference to that particular piling cap.
It was soon determined that the top and side mounted pedestals needed to be adapted from the PILEKAP configuration and reconfigured for adaptation to other non-piling structures such as pier decks, sides of pilings, stair railings and other horizontal and vertical structures in order to provide the means for a total system.
For example, if a pier owner desires to construct a safety rope railing from one PILEKAP to another using the rope attachment block 111 shown in FIG. 10g of the above referred patent, then a mounting means for the top and side pedestals other than a PILEKAP is required for continuing the rope railing to non-piling structures as described above.
Similarly, there are situations where the top and side winged pedestals are preferred to be mounted on the side of a piling rather than the top. An example would be where very tall pilings are in place so that access to the tops is difficult, and perhaps not desirable. In that case, top and side mounting winged pedestals in a bracket configuration can be utilized to mount virtually all of the PILEKAP mountable accessories.
Also, similarly, bracket configurations of the top and side mounting winged pedestals would be very useful on the top members of bulkheading where the piling tops are often flush with the timbers so that PILEKAPS are not installable.
There are numerous marine situations where it is preferable to use only the top mounting winged pedestals and its accessory base to promote safety and to deter theft. This top pedestal can be mounted on the stern gunwales of boats for the temporary mounting of boarding steps, ladders, ski ropes, rod holders, etc. When the top pedestal is mounted on work surfaces in a galley and its accessory base is applied to appliances such as food blenders, the safe operation of such appliances can be assured when a boat is underway. Because of the limited space on most boats, the same top pedestal could be used for the temporary attachment of items such as tool vices during boat repairs.
On the instrument deck, winged pedestals could be used for the quick attachment and detachment of the highly expensive instrumentation employed in the operation of many boats. These instruments often are easy targets for thieves due to their easy accessibility especially when covered only by canvas. Usage of the winged pedestal system allows a boat owner to quickly demount all valuable instruments at the end of a cruise and store them in the cabin area so they are out of sight. A specially designed winged pedestal and its accessories mounting base provides for automatic hook-up of electrical power when the base fully engages the winged pedestal. All top winged pedestals can be provided in either a fixed or a swivel style.
Two means of locking the top and side accessory bases onto their respective pedestals of a PILEKAP were presented in the above-referenced patent. Since that filing a very simple, strong and easily operable locking means has been developed. It incorporates a very strong stainless steel wire of spring quality that is formed to be permanently affixed to the periphery of each mounting base. It is easily deflected by a person's fingers to permit the slidable engagement of the base onto the winged pedestal. Once full engagement is effected, the wire form snaps to its relaxed position adjacent to the center of the pedestal edge, thus locking the base onto the pedestal. Release is effected by flexing the wire form sufficiently so that it glides on top of the pedestal during removal. Thus a very quick and reliable attach and detach means is provided which for most accessories is sufficient. However, where security is important, two screws affecting each base can be deployed to disable the quick release features.
For most accessorial applications, the single, top mounted winged pedestal surface of a PILEKAP is sufficient in size to provide a stable platform for top mounting accessories. There are, however, certain situations where a top mounted accessory may impose a severe load due to its overbearing size (such as a large fish-cleaning table). To compensate, a side pedestal can be used to mount a special extension bracket to provide an additional top winged pedestal in correct alignment with the first top pedestal so that two top mounting bases properly located on the underside of a large accessory can engage the two top pedestals with greater stability. The bracket may also provide an additional side mounting pedestal. This concept, hereinafter referred to as a top and side winged pedestal extension bracket, can be employed to provide at least five top and side pedestals and more are possible if additional extension brackets are used.
In another overbearing condition, such as in the support of a beach-sized umbrella, both the top and side pedestal positions of a PILEKAP can be utilized in combination to provide a supportive means stronger and more stable than either individually.
The PILEKAP devices protected by U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,057 and those devices disclosed in this application are intended to be manufactured by the injection molding of a plastic. Tooling for this mode of manufacture typically is quite expensive. For example, if the PILEKAPS are to be offered to the consumer in inside diameter sizes of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 inches, then nine separate injection molds would be required, the cost of which could easily reach into the upper six-figures. A concept is herein advanced which requires that injection molds only for the 6, 9 and 12 inch sizes would be necessary. Then, sizing sleeves with either 1/2 inch or 1 inch thick walls are fabricated with the proper outside diameters to fit snugly inside the injection molded inner diameter sizes. Thus, a 12-inch PILEKAP can be adapted to fit either an 11-inch or a 10-inch diameter piling, etc.
Many methods can be used to manufacture the sizing sleeves, but an inexpensive method of fabricating the sizing sleeves has been developed. Roofing felt normally is manufactured and sold in a 36 inch width and in rolls up to 144 feet in length. The 36-inch width is slit to a 63/4-inch width so that it is 1/4 inch shorter than the 7 inch inside measurement of the PILEKAP sidewalls. After slitting, the felt is carelessly rewound to provide the different sizing sleeves described above. An adhesive, such as hot glue, is used to fasten both ends and is dribbled throughout the winding process to provide a tight and non-telescoping sleeve. An unexpected benefit resulted from this development. It was found that if a PILEKAP with a particular sleeve inside diameter produces too snug a fit onto a piling, the installer can score the innermost felt layer with a sharp blade and remove a sufficient amount for a proper fit so that on-the-job sizing is easily accomplished.
In marine construction, timbers are often vertically installed having normal cross-sectional dimensions of 4".times.4", 6".times.6" and 8".times.8". For these applications, an internal adapter can be installed inside a PILEKAP to fit non-circular shapes.